A controversial law enforcement known as civil asset forfeiture allows police to seize and keep cash and property from people, who are suspected of wrongdoing but may never be charged. Despite public outcries, the use of this procedure has increased in the past decade. Questions: 1. The figures in reports show “the size of the… Read more »
Posts Tagged: risk
File and Suspend is No Longer Available
A strategy to increase lifetime Social Security benefits by up to roughly $60,000 for some high-earning couples was eliminated by the Obama Administration on Nov. 2. The strategy, known as file-and-suspend, allowed one spouse to file for Social Security retirement benefits and then suspend the payouts, so that the other spouse could collect spousal benefits… Read more »
Contagion in Earnings Manipulations
A new study shows that after one company in an industry is found to have misstated its earnings, others in its industry often followed suit and began massaging their own numbers; this ultimately results in their own restatements. Questions: 1. Why were the regulatory actions in the study so intriguing and what did they indicate?… Read more »
Gentrification Ignites Deed Theft
White-collar criminals are employing a variety of schemes in New York City to snatch properties from their owners. Often, they use the secrecy afforded to shell companies to rent out vacated properties until they are caught or sell them to third parties. Questions: 1. What are some of the signs of forgery on the fraudulent… Read more »
Incredible Law School Debt
The median LSAT score of students admitted to Florida Coastal School of Law was among the lowest 25% nationwide. Despite the fact that the average debt of the 2014 graduating class had $163,000 in debt, may not pass the bar, and probably cannot repay the debt, this school is one of six for-profit law schools… Read more »
Circumventing the Courts with Nine Words
Banning class action suits have essentially disabled consumer challenges to practices like predatory lending. Additionally, a Wall Street-led coalition of credit card companies and retailers, have also engineered blocks on class action suits. In this article, various companies’ efforts to protect arbitration are discussed. Questions: 1. Why has the “birth of a thousand clauses” taken… Read more »
Bad Legal Advice or Bad Insurance Companies or Bad Laws?
One of my favorite quotes is that from author Wendy Mass: “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.” And so it seems that this story may illustrate it well. The article and video discuss the case of Jennifer Connell who sued her nephew, Sean Tarala, for $127,000 over… Read more »
All Day Breakfast
In an email to franchisees, McDonald’s US President Mike Andres called the all-day breakfast launch a success. However, this article points to a survey of U.S. franchisees that disagree. Questions: 1. Why are McDonald’s franchisees saying that the all-day breakfast launch has been a nightmare? List the reasons and rank them according to your opinion… Read more »
A Solution for Legal Cannabis Cash?
Of the more than 7,600 banks and credit unions in the U.S., only about 220 accept cannabis cash, according to the Department of the Treasury. Questions: 1. If Anthony Rivera Jr. accomplishes his goal, who will be the bankers for legal cannabis cash? In your opinion, is this a good idea? Why or why not?… Read more »
Vintage Frauds
The issue of fake wines started to become headline news a few years ago when the so-called Thomas Jefferson bottles, several old bottles of Bordeaux, claimed to have belonged to Thomas Jefferson were offered by a German wine collector named Hardy Rodenstock. Bill Koch, the brother of the notorious Charles and David Koch, bought four… Read more »